Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1887-10-21


than silver, and thus it has curiously
enough come to pass that silver is the legal
tender of the country.
The second reason given is that, at GER
tain seasons Of the year, the native grasses
of the country, which are very sweet and
good, turn as yellow as ripe corn; and the
third arises from a tradition that the peo-
pie were originally yellow-skinned, but
grew white after living for many genera
tions, upon these high lands. Zu-vendis is
a country about the size of France, is,
roughly speaking, oval in shape, and on
every side cut off from the surrounding
territory by illimitable forests of impene-
trable thorn, beyond which are said TO be
hundreds of miles of mOrasses, deserts, and
great mountains.
1t is, in short, a huge, high table-land
rising up in the center of the dark cOntin-
ent, much as in southern Africa flat-topped
mountains rise from the level OF the sur
rounding Yeldt. Milosis itself lies, accord
ing to my aneroid, at a level of about nine
thousand feet above the sea; but most of
the land is even higher, the greatest ele-
walton of the open country being, believe,
about eleven thousand feet As conse-
quence, the climate Is, comparatively
speaking, a cold one, being very similar to
that of southern England, only brighter
and not so rainy. The land is, however.
exceedingly fertile, and grows all cereals
and temperate fruits and timber to perfec-
ton; and in the lower-lying parts even
produces n hardy variety OF sugar-cane.
Coal is found in great abundance, and in
many places crops out from the surface;
and so is pure marble, both black and
white The same may be said of almost
every metal except silver, which is scarce,
and only to be obtained from range of
mountains in the North.
Zu-vendis comprises in her boundaries
great variety Of scenery, including TWO
ranges OF snOw-clad mountains, one or The
western boundary beyond the impenetra
BILE belt of thorn forest, and the OtheI
piercing the country from north to south,
and passing mt a distance of about eighty
miles from Milosis. from which town its
higher peaks are distinctly visible. This
range forms the chief watershed of the
land There are also three large lakes
the biggest, thatwhcrcon we emerged, and
which is named Nilusis after the city, coy
ering some Two hundred square miles OF
ouuntry-and numerous small ones, some
Of them salt.
l4t Ibt't.lbN lf!l VI AtiAN AtLs "a ~ AtRANA -
comparatively speaking dense, numbering
nj n rough estimate from twelve to fifteen
millions 1t is almost purely agricultural
in its habits and divided into great classes
as in civilized countries. There is a terri
tOr.al nobility, and a considerable middle
class formed principally of merchants,
officers Of the army, etc; but the great bulk
of the people are wcll-to-do peasants who
- Napl l., vl,fAgfO
they hold under a species of feudal tenure
The best bred people in the country are as
| think | have said, pure whites with
somewhat southern cast of Countcnance;
but the common herd are much darker,
though they do not show any negro or 9th
err African characteristics. As TO their de-
scent, can give no certain information.
Their written records, which extend back
for about thousand years, give no hint of
it. One very ancient ChroniCler docs, in
deed in abiding to some old tradition that
existed in his day, talk of it rs having
probably originally come down with the
people from the coast" but that may mean
little or nothing. In short, the origin Ur
the Xu-vendi is lost in the miStS OF time.
Whence they came, or of what race they
are, no man knows. Their architecture
and some of their sculptures suggest an
Egyptian or possibly an Assyrian origin;
but it is well known that their present re-
markable style of building has only sprung
up within the last eight hundred years,
and they certainly retain no traces OF
Egyptian theology or customs. Again,
their appearance and some of their habits
are rather Jewish; but here again it seems
hardly conceivable that they should have
utterly lost all traces of the Jewish relig-
ion. SIN, for Gught know, they may be
one Of the lost ten tribes whom people are
SO fond of discovering all over the world,
or they may not. do not know, and so
can only describe them as find them, and
leave wiser heads than mine to make what
they can out of il, If indeed this account
should ever be read ut ALL which is exceed
ing!y doubtful.
And now, after have said all this, am,
after all, going TO hazard n theory of my
own, though lit is only very little one"
as the young lady said III mitigation of her
baby This theory is founded on n legend
that have heard among the Arabs on the
East coast, which is to the effect that
"more than two thousand years ago" there
were troubles in the country which was
known rs BabylOnia, and that thereon
vast horde of Persians came down to Blu
shire, where they took ship and were driv-
en- by the North East Monsoon to the East
coast of Africa, where, according to the
legend, 'the sun and fire worshipers" fell
into conflict with the belt of Arab settlers
who even then were settled on the East
coast, and finally broke their way through
them, and vanishing into the interior,
were no more seen. Now, | ask. is it not
at least possible that the Zu-vendi people
are the descendants of these "sun and fire
worshipcrS' who broke through the Arabs
and vanished? As Il matter of fact, there
is a good de"l in their character and Gus.
toms that tallies with the somewhat vague
ideas that | have of Pcrsians o. course,
we have no books of reference here, but
Sir Henry says that, if his memory does
not fail him, there was tremendous re
volt in Babylon about 800 n. c, whereon a
vast multitude were expelled the city.
Anyhow, it Is well-establishcd fact that
there have been many separate emigra-
tons Of Pcrsians from the Persian Gulf to
the East coast Of Africa up to as lately as
seven hundred years ago There are Per
sian tombs ut kilwa. ON the East coast, still
in good repair, which bear dates showing
them 10 be just seven hundred years old.
(There is another theory that might ac
count for the origin OF the Zu-veudi, which
does not seem to have struck my friend
Mr.. Quartermain and his companions; and
that is, that they are descendants of the
phmniCianS. The cradle of the Phenician
race is supposed to have been on the west
ern shore of the Persian Gulf. Thence, az
Giere IS good evidence to show. they emf
grated in two streams, one of which took
possession of the shores of Palestine, and
the other is supposed by savauts TO have
immigrated down the coast of Eastern AZ
RIGA, where, near Mozambique; signs and
remains of their occupation of the country
ARE not wanting. Indeed, it would have
been very extraordinary if they did not,
when leaving the Persian Gulf, make
straight for the East coast, seeing that the
Northeast Monsoon blows. for six months
in the year, dead in that direction, while
for the other six months it blows back
again. And, by way of illustrating the
probability, may add that to this day
very extensive trade is carried on between
the Persian Gulf and Lamu and other East
African ports rs far south as Madagascar.
which is of course the ancient Ebony Isle
of the arabian NiqhtS-Editorl
In addition to being an agricultural peo-
pie. the Zu-yendi are, oddly enough, eN-
cesSively warlike; and as they cannot. from
the eNigencies of their position, make war
upon other nations, they fight among each
other, like the famed Kilkenny cats, with
the happy result that the population never
outgrows the power OF the country to sup
N~s l. ~ -.